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There are a few things that I can definitely understand about director Wes Anderson�s latest film, The Darjeeling Limited.
First of all, I can understand that traveling with your family isn�t easy. In Darjeeling, three brothers meet for what�s supposed to be a spiritually enlightening, brotherly bonding kind of journey by train through India. The three�Francis (Owen Wilson), Jack (Jason Schwartzman), and Peter (Adrien Brody)�haven�t spoken in a year, since their father�s funeral. So Francis decides that it�s time for them to become brothers again. Francis has the whole thing planned, plotted into minute-by-minute itineraries, which are to be presented to them daily by his personal assistant, Brendan (Wallace Wolodarsky).
From the beginning, the journey isn�t what it�s supposed to be. Francis is a control freak. They�re all keeping secrets�because they don�t trust each other. And they�re constantly self-medicating with various Indian cough syrups and pain medications. Things continue to get worse until a deadly snake and some pepper spray get them thrown off their train and stranded in the desert with approximately two tons of luggage, a printer, and a laminating machine.
And I can understand all that. In fact, as I was making my way to the theater, I recalled a particularly nightmarish family journey, which featured just as much bickering as Darjeeling, only without the Indian medications to dull the pain.
I can also understand how difficult it is to travel when you�re carrying all that baggage. I�ve been there�and I almost got stranded in a train station in the Netherlands because of it.
At the same time, though, there are plenty of things that I don�t understand about The Darjeeling Limited�but that�s just the way Anderson works. His unconventional and often awkward films don�t usually tell traditional stories that have a beginning, a middle, and an end. They�re not always comfortable. They might have a point�or they might not. And Darjeeling is no different. It tells a simple story about three brothers on a very strange road trip. We don�t really know all that much about the three characters outside the story. We know that Francis is rich�and that he had a brush with death before planning the trip. We know that Jack is trying to get over a failed relationship. And we know that Peter is about to become a father�and that he�s still clinging to his own father�s possessions. The characters aren�t fully developed, but you�ll be fascinated by their interactions anyway�mostly because of the three actors who portray them. They work well together�and they�re just fun to watch.
As for their story, it�s mostly a lot of talk. It wanders around for a while, not really heading anywhere in particular. At times, it�s funny. At others, it�s insightful. And sometimes, it�s just plain strange (more so in the film�s second half). But through it all, it�s beautiful. The settings are stunning. They�re colorful and noisy and captivating.
Don�t go into The Darjeeling Limited expecting to understand every minute of it. If that frustrates you, it might be best not to try at all. Anderson�s movies aren�t conventional�and they�re not for everyone. But even though you won�t understand it all in the end�you�ll definitely feel like you�ve been on a fascinating journey.
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